Armed Forces: Equipment

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Clansman radio system has been fully replaced in the British Armed Forces with Bowman equipment; and, if not, when that replacement will be completed.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The Regular element of the Armed Forces and Territorial Army units with an operational role have been converted from Clansman to Bowman while other lower priority units have retained Clansman as a temporary measure, in order to sustain low-level training and core skills. On current plans, it is intended that Bowman will have fully replaced Clansman by the end of 2011.

Armed Forces: Equipment

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the operational capability of Bowman equipment in Afghanistan.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Bowman has proved to be very capable and a vast improvement over the family of Clansman radios it has replaced. In the challenging terrain and conditions of Afghanistan, Bowman is providing secure voice communications between widespread units across the country. This is an enhanced capability over that provided by Clansman.

Armed Forces: Equipment

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what the weight is of the portable Bowman VHF pack, including batteries; and whether there are plans to reduce it.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: There are two primary types of in-service very high frequency (VHF) Bowman portable radio. The MoD designation PRC 354, including battery, has a total weight of 3.38 kg. The PRC 355, including battery, has a total weight of 4.88 kg, excluding headset.
	There are no plans to reduce the weight of the radios or indeed the batteries, as there are currently no suitable lighter alternatives. Work to improve battery performance is, however, continuing. Whilst future batteries are unlikely to weigh less than their current counterparts, their improved performance should mean that fewer spare batteries are required, thus reducing the overall weight carried.

Armed Forces: Equipment

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether General Dynamics have a contract for the supply of Bowman radio equipment to the British Armed Forces; and how much has been paid so far to General Dynamics for that contract.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Yes, the department does have a contract with General Dynamics UK Ltd for the supply of Bowman communications capability, which includes the supply of radio equipment. Payments to the Bowman prime contractor under this contract up to December 2008 were £2,181 million. These payments cover the cost of Bowman and of the integrated Combat Infrastructure Platform BISA (BCIP) equipment.

Armed Forces: Equipment

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the cost to public funds over each of the past 10 years of the procurement of the Bowman radio system for the British Armed Forces.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The procurement cost of the Bowman radio system falls within two distinct time periods. Expenditure during the period 1997 to 2000, when the ARCHER Joint Venture Company held preferred supplier status, was £397 million. Following re-competition, the Bowman contract was awarded to General Dynamics (UK), in 2001. Expenditure, including on emerging requirements to 31 March 2008, is £2,195 million broken down into the following years:
	2001-02: £140 million
	2002-03: £249 million
	2003-04: £328 million
	2004-05: £544 million
	2005-06: £556 million
	2006-07: £285 million; and
	2007-08: £ 93 million.

Banking

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they will introduce to restore confidence in joint-stock banks, in the light of developments in financial markets since 19 January.

Lord Myners: In addition to decisive actions taken last October, on 19 January the Government announced further measures designed to reinforce the stability of the financial system, to increase confidence and capacity to lend and, in turn, to support the recovery of the economy. The Government are now working to implement these schemes and will monitor the impact of these measures. The Government will publish further details of the asset protection scheme by the last week of February. The Government will do whatever it takes to maintain financial stability.

Banking: Northern Rock

Lord James of Blackheath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the decision to allow Northern Rock to resume active mortgage lending will affect the previous consent of the European Community to the rescue of the bank under its competition rules.

Lord Myners: Treasury officials have been in close contact with the European Commission with regard to Northern Rock's business plan. The previous consent of the European Commission to the rescue of the bank under its competition rules continues.

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what official term they use to refer to the agreement of April 1998 in Belfast which concerned the affairs of Northern Ireland.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The official term used to refer to this agreement is "The Belfast Agreement". However, given the wide use of the term "Good Friday Agreement", both terms are sometimes used to describe the same agreement. It was laid before Parliament as Command Paper 3883.

Businesses

Lord Chadlington: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many new small and medium-sized businesses have been registered in the past 12 months; and how that figure compares with the past five years.

Lord Patel of Bradford: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply to the noble Lord. A copy of its response will be placed in the Library.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician and Registrar General, to Lord Chadlington dated January 2009.
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many new small and medium-sized businesses have been registered in the last 12 months; and how that figure compares with the last five years (HL986).
	Annual statistics on births, deaths and survivals of businesses are available from the ONS Business Demography publication. Separate estimates for small and medium-sized businesses are not available prior to 2007. The tables below contain the latest annual estimates.
	
		
			 Year Business births 000 
			 2003 267 
			 2004 280 
			 2005 275 
			 2006 256 
			 2007 302 
		
	
	
		
			 2007 Business births by employment size band 000s 
			 0-4 5-9 10-19 20+ Total 
			 277 17 6 1 302 
			 Note: Components do not add to total due to rounding. 
		
	
	For the full dataset see:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product. asp9vlnk=15186

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many fatalities from carbon monoxide poisoning have occurred in each year since 2000; and, of those, how many had previously presented with symptoms that could have suggested chronic carbon monoxide poisoning.

Lord Patel of Bradford: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply to the noble Baroness. A copy of its response will be placed in the Library.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician and Registrar General, to Baroness Finlay, dated February 2009.
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many fatalities from carbon monoxide poisoning have occurred in each year since 2000; and, of those, how many had previously presented with symptoms that could have suggested chronic carbon monoxide poisoning. (HL 1130)
	The attached table provides the number of deaths where the toxic effect of carbon monoxide was the cause of death, from 2000 to 2007 (the latest year available). Figures are broken down by intent, as shown by the coroner's verdict.
	It is not possible to present figures on how many of these fatalities had previously presented with symptoms that could have suggested chronic carbon monoxide poisoning, as information recorded at death registration does not include the previous medical history of the deceased.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of deaths with a cause of carbon monoxide poisoning, by intent1, England and Wales 2 2000 to 20073 Deaths (persons) 
			 Year Homicide Suicide Undetermined Unintentional Total 
			 2000 10 397 38 131 576 
			 2001 6 341 26 130 503 
			 2002 3 312 22 115 452 
			 2003 8 251 23 104 386 
			 2004 7 251 17 99 374 
			 2005 2 177 19 65 263 
			 2006 9 147 18 87 261 
			 2007 5 147 20 79 251 
		
	
	1Cause of death from carbon monoxide poisoning was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 986 for the year 2000 and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code T58 for the years 2001 to 2007, where these codes appeared as the secondary cause. Intent was defined using the ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes shown in the box below, where these codes appeared as the underlying cause.
	2 Figures include deaths of non-residents.
	3 Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.
	
		
			  ICD-9 (2000) ICD-10 (2001-2006) ICD-10 (2007) 
			 Homicide E960-E969, E988.8 X85-Y09, Y33.9 (where coroner's verdict pending) X85-Y09, U50.9 (previously coded as Y33.9, coroner's verdict pending) 
			 Suicide E950-E959 E980-E989 (excluding E988.8) X60-X84 , Y10-Y34 (excluding Y33.9, where coroner's verdict pending) X60-X84 
			 Undetermined E800-E869  Y10-Y34 
			 Unintentional E880-E929 V01-X59, Y85-Y86 V01-X59, Y85-Y86

Children: Care

Lord Quirk: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Morgan of Drefelin on 12 January (Official Report, 12/1/09; col. WA 125—26), whether fuller records of educational outcomes of the most talented pupils, including progress at GCSE, A levels and higher education, will be collected and disseminated in the future.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The national pupil database (NPD) contains data on both the characteristics of pupils (e.g. gender, ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals) and their attainment in national curriculum assessments, GCSEs and A-levels. The pupil characteristics are taken from the school census, which included gifted and talented pupil data from 2006 for secondary schools and from 2007 for primary schools. The Department for Children, Schools and Families has no current plans to publish any work in this area. The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is also currently engaged in preliminary research using the NPD. This work starts from specific GCSE cohorts rather than key stage 2 cohorts and looks at the whole cohort, not just high-performing students. It is important to recognise that performance at a specific key stage alone does not measure or directly reflect talent and future potential. Work is at an early stage, and there are no current plans to publish it.

Climate Change: Research

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will increase their funding for the Imperial College Grantham Institute for Climate Change to expand its climate change research.

Lord Drayson: The Government welcome the work carried out by the Imperial College Grantham Institute for Climate Change. The institute is free to apply for funds from relevant government departments and from the research councils. It is for higher education institutions to determine how to invest research funding provided by HEFCE across the range of their research.

Energy: Wind Farms

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government with reference to OFGEM factsheet 76 "Connecting Renewable Generation", how many wind farm projects are delayed awaiting delivery of wind turbines; what is the quoted delivery time for new projects; how many United Kingdom manufacturers build turbines in the United Kingdom; and what is their combined capacity.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Information on projects awaiting delivery of turbines or the quoted lead times for wind turbines are a commercial matter between the developer and the wind turbine manufacturer. The department does not record this information. However, in the last few years, the global annual growth in wind generation has been between 20 and 30 per cent and wind turbine manufacturers have been unable to increase supply to match this demand. The supply of key critical components—for example, gearboxes, forging and bearings—is the main cause for this and has resulted in lead times of around two to three years for offshore turbines (BERR report: Supply Chain Constraints on the Deployment of Renewable Energy Technologies), although recent information suggests that global supply has increased due to global economic conditions, but at a rate lower than the current growth in demand.
	Currently, there are no manufacturers of wind turbines in the UK. However, Clipper Windpower (a US turbine manufacturer) made an announcement in 2007 about establishing the development of the Britannia turbine (a 7.5 to 10 megawatt offshore wind turbine) in the north-east of England, and will manufacture the turbine in the UK.

Fishing: UK Territorial Seas

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government (a) what is the extent of the United Kingdom's territorial seas adjacent to Northern Ireland; (b) what part of the sea within the British fishery limits would be lost if Northern Ireland was no longer in the United Kingdom; and (c) what part of the sea would be shared by the remainder of the United Kingdom and the former Northern Ireland if Northern Ireland was no longer in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: (a) The territorial sea limit adjacent to Northern Ireland is 12 nautical miles, calculated from a normal baseline, except where the coasts of Northern Ireland and Scotland are less than 24 nautical miles apart, where a median line is the limit. The approximate area is 1,380 square nautical miles.
	Regarding parts (b) and (c), there are two small areas of British fishery limits adjacent to Northern Ireland. The area to the north off County Londonderry is approximately 75 square nautical miles and the area to the south off County Down is approximately 439 square nautical miles. It is not possible to say what the position would be in the hypothetical circumstance suggested by the noble Lord.
	The Belfast agreement and the Northern Ireland Act 1998 make clear that Northern Ireland in its entirety remains part of the UK and shall not cease to do so without the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland.

Gaza: Questions for Written Answer

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will reply to the Questions for Written Answer, tabled by Lord Hylton on 8 December 2008 (HL141, HL142, HL143, HL144, HL145 and HL146), 9 December 2008 (HL183, HL184 and HL185), 11 December 2008 (HL268), 15 December 2008 (HL374 and HL376) and 17 December 2008 (HL454).

Lord Malloch-Brown: Questions HL141 to 144 were answered on 26 January 2009. HL145 will be answered shortly. HL146 was answered on 28 January 2009. HL183 has been transferred to the Department for International Development for answer, and HL 184 has been transferred to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform for answer. HL185 was answered on 27 January 2009. HL268 was answered on 28 January 2009. HL374 was answered on 29 January 2009, and HL376 was answered on 28 January 2009. HL454 was answered on 28 January 2009.
	I apologise to the noble Lord for the time taken to answer his Questions.

Gulf War: NAPS Tablets

Lord Roberts of Conwy: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Bach on 9 October 2003 (WA 67-78) and Lord Drayson on 17 December 2008 (WA 43), whether the Medical Research Council (MRC) was consulted by Ministers or at any time involved in reviewing the decision not to include any restriction on co-administration in the instructions for use of the nerve agent pre-treatment sets (NAPS) tablets, each containing pyridostigmine bromide, used for troops deployed to the 1990—91 Gulf War conflict; and whether the MRC has been or will be asked to give its comments on the findings of the Congressionally-mandated United States Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, published on 17 November 2008.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Details about the medical counter-measures used to protect British forces against nerve agents during the 1990-91 Gulf conflict were set out in the MoD document Background to the use of Medical Countermeasures to protect British Forces during the Gulf War (Operation GRANBY), published in October 1997, which is available in the Library of the House. The document sets out the background to the chemical and biological threats at the time and what the UK Government did to protect British forces. In relation to the use of nerve agent pre-treatment sets (NAPS) tablets and the Medical Research Council (MRC), it is necessary to research our records on the issue. The MRC's 2003 review of research into UK Gulf veterans' illnesses did, however, look at the use of vaccines and NAPs tablets. I will write to the noble Lord when I am in a position to do so and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
	The Government have noted that the report published by the US Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses has been referred by the Department of Veterans Affairs to the Institute of Medicine for review. The Government will await the outcome of this process before making any comments on the report and deciding on any action we may wish to take relating to the report.

Health: Alcoholism

Lord Chadlington: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many alcoholics are registered with the National Health Service; and what additional help they are giving to assist such people with their addiction.
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Lord Darzi of Denham: There is no scheme or requirement for registration by alcoholics with the National Health Service.
	On 1 April 2008, a national Alcohol Treatment Monitoring System (NATMS) began operation to collect and report local and national information on the provision of structured care-planned treatment for alcohol misuse in England. Prior to 1 April 2008 there was no routine collection of data on numbers receiving alcohol treatment in England.
	Limited NATMS data is reported on the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System website, at www.ndtms.net/alcohol.aspx. This shows that in December 2008, 53,179 people were in contact with specialist alcohol treatment in England, with a year-to-date figure for 2008-09 of 88,016 people.
	The data given above is unlikely as yet to be fully representative of alcohol dependent patients in contact with the NHS. They primarily represent contact with specialist alcohol treatment services, as defined in guidance on Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers, and are therefore unlikely to include a significant number of patients who receive interventions in primary care or other settings. To aid commissioners and providers in delivering effective interventions and treatment for adults affected by alcohol misuse, the department and the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse jointly published, in June 2006, best practice guidance, Models of care for alcohol misusers (MoCAM).
	In 2004 the department commissioned the Alcohol Needs Assessment Research Project (ANARP) to measure the gap between the demand for and provision of specialist alcohol treatment services in England at a national and regional level.
	ANARP research was conducted over a period of six months between September 2004 and February 2005, and as part of this work ANARP estimated that around 5.6 per cent (approximately 63,000) of the alcohol dependent population were accessing alcohol treatment per year. The new National Alcohol Treatment Monitoring System suggests that actual numbers may now be higher than this.
	Since the department published ANARP, in November 2005, action has been taken to improve access to treatment for those dependent on alcohol:
	From April 2008, a new indicator became part of both NHS Vital Signs and the National Indicator Set for local area agreements. This measures change in the rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions and is expected to encourage primary care trusts (PCTs) to invest in earlier identification of people who drink too much, leading to brief advice by general practitioners or other healthcare staff and, if necessary, referral to treatment. A total of 99 PCTs and 76 local authorities have included this indicator as one of their local priorities, setting out local targets and plans for reducing alcohol-related hospital admissions.
	From November 2008, a new alcohol improvement programme is providing practical support and guidance to the NHS including:
	regional alcohol managers to galvanise and support local action;a new National Support Team for Alcohol, to provide strategic advice to areas that experience the highest rates of alcohol-related hospital admissions;an online Alcohol Learning Centre with training resources for practitioners and tools and guidance for planners and commissioners; and20 early implementer PCTs in areas of high health inequalities are receiving funding and support to go further faster to reduce alcohol-related harms.

Health: Medical Schools

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many men and how many women entered United Kingdom medical schools over the years 2003—07.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: The latest available figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) are shown in the table. Figures for 2007/08 were released on 29 January 2009.
	Table 1
	
		
			 Undergraduate Entrants (1) to Pre-Clinical Medicine Courses by Gender and Level of Study UK Higher Education Institutions. Academic Years 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			 Academic Year Female Male Total 
			 PG UG PG UG PG UG 
			 2003-04 140 3,740 65 2,390 205 6,130 
			 2004-05 160 3,700 95 2,500 250 6,200 
			 2005-06 195 3,840 155 2,840 350 6,680 
			 2006-07 270 3,480 195 2,585 465 6,060 
			
			 2007-08(2) 225 2,635 155 2,035 380 4,670 
			 Source:Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).Notes:Figures are on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded to the nearest five.(1) Covers entrants to both full-time and part-time courses. (2) Due to a change in the HESA student record in the way in which students are assigned subject of study, figures for the 2007-08 academic year are not comparable to those for previous years. 
		
	
	Due to the incomparability of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 figures for medical students, UCAS figures are included at Table 2 as they provide a more accurate comparison for these two years.
	Table 2
	
		
			 Accepted Applicants to Full-Time Undergraduate Pre-Clinical Medicine Courses at English Higher Education Institutions.2006 and 2007 Years of Entry 
			 2006 4,702 3,309 8,011 
			 2007 4,424 3,413 7,837 
			 Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

Iraq: Mr al-Zaidi

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Iraq to request correct treatment in prison and access to legal advice for the Iraqi journalist Mr Mountazer al-Zaidi.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The Government have not made any direct representations to the Government of Iraq on behalf of Mr al-Zaidi, an Iraqi national. We have, however, been able to establish through US counterparts that teams from the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights conduct frequent visits to Mr al-Zaidi at Camp Honor in Baghdad to monitor his situation. They report that he is being treated well. We also understand that Mr al-Zaidi enjoys access to legal advice and has an appeal lodged with the Iraqi Court of Cassation. His trial will be held in abeyance until the court has ruled on his appeal.

Israel: Elections

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government in the light of previous decisions by the Courts of Appeal of Israel, whether they will ask the government of Israel to rescind the decision of the Israeli Central Elections Committee to ban the United Arab List-Ta'al and Balad parties from participating in the coming general election.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We did not make representations given that such decisions have previously been overturned by the Israeli courts. This has now happened and these two parties are now allowed to participate in the elections. We welcome this decision.

Passports

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 12 January (Official Report, 12/1/09; col. WA 117), what is the breakdown by country of the 375,715 United Kingdom passports issued during 2007-08 by United Kingdom diplomatic missions overseas.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The table below provides the numbers of passports, broken down by country and by post, issued by our diplomatic missions in 2007-08.
	
		
			 Post Country Total no. of passports issued (2007-08) 
			 Buenos Aires Argentina 729 
			 Canberra Australia 57,196 
			 Vienna Austria 1,843 
			 Baku Azerbaijan 332 
			 Bahrain Bahrain 1,361 
			 Dhaka (incl. Sylhet) Bangladesh 790 
			 Bridgetown Barbados 1,650 
			 Brussels Belgium 3,457 
			 Gaborone Botswana 323 
			 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 1,145 
			 Bandar Seri Begawan Brunei 566 
			 Ottawa Canada 23,633 
			 Santiago Chile 401 
			 Beijing China 2,084 
			 Hong Kong China 29,083 
			 Bogota Colombia 396 
			 San Jose Costa Rica 414 
			 Nicosia Cyprus 5,203 
			 Prague Czech Republic 680 
			 Copenhagen Denmark 1,583 
			 Quito Ecuador 208 
			 Cairo Egypt 1,577 
			 Tallinn Estonia 96 
			 Helsinki Finland 383 
			 Paris France 20,547 
			 Banjul Gambia 169 
			 Dusseldorf Germany 14,907 
			 Accra Ghana 540 
			 Athens Greece 2,661 
			 Budapest Hungary 461 
			 Reykjavik Iceland 83 
			 Mumbai India 1,225 
			 New Delhi India 1,428 
			 Jakarta Indonesia 1,077 
			 Tehran Iran 382 
			 Dublin Ireland 9,671 
			 Tel Aviv Israel 4,258 
			 Rome Italy 4,127 
			 Kingston Jamaica 1,727 
			 Tokyo Japan 2,022 
			 Amman Jordan 1,086 
			 Nairobi (not incl. Mombasa) Kenya 1,940 
			 Kuwait Kuwait 779 
			 Beirut Lebanon 699 
			 Tripoli Libya 551 
			 Lilongwe Malawi 575 
			 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 1,850 
			 Valletta Malta 765 
			 Port Louis Mauritius 687 
			 Mexico City Mexico 811 
			 Rabat Morocco 279 
			 Windhoek Namibia 77 
			 Amsterdam Netherlands 5,206 
			 Wellington New Zealand 20,859 
			 Lagos Nigeria 1,492 
			 Oslo Norway 1,689 
			 Muscat Oman 770 
			 Islamabad Pakistan 3,437 
			 Karachi Pakistan 436 
			 Lima Peru 353 
			 Manila Philippines 1,141 
			 Warsaw Poland 685 
			 Lisbon Portugal 1,313 
			 Doha Qatar 1,093 
			 Bucharest Romania 223 
			 Moscow Russia 660 
			 Riyadh Saudi Arabia 2,169 
			 Freetown Sierra Leone 39 
			 Singapore Singapore 5,284 
			 Pretoria South Africa 22,826 
			 Seoul South Korea 421 
			 Madrid Spain 20,306 
			 Colombo Sri Lanka 471 
			 Stockholm Sweden 1,700 
			 Geneva Switzerland 5,879 
			 Damascus Syria 118 
			 Dar Es Salaam Tanzania 471 
			 Bangkok Thailand 5,345 
			 Port of Spain Trinidad & Tobago 714 
			 Tunis Tunisia 175 
			 Ankara Turkey 586 
			 Istanbul Turkey 866 
			 Kampala Uganda 345 
			 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates 1,461 
			 Dubai United Arab Emirates 6,962 
			 Washington USA 46,424 
			 Caracas Venezuela 370 
			 Hanoi Vietnam 578 
			 Lusaka Zambia 662 
			 Harare Zimbabwe 1,669 
			  375,715

Sinn Fein

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have reached an agreement or understanding with Sinn Fein/IRA concerning (a) the investigation of the Northern Bank robbery; (b) the murder of Robert McCartney; and (c) the murder of Paul Quinn; and, if so, what is the agreement or understanding.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: No. These investigations are an operational matter for the chief constable, who acts with total independence.

Taxation: VAT

Lord Hanningfield: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Myners on 18 December 2008 (WA 81—82), whether they have assessed or will assess (a) the pass-on rate of the temporary VAT reduction; and (b) the administrative costs associated with implementing the reduction.

Lord Myners: In the Pre-Budget Report 2008 (Cm 7484), it was assumed that the majority of the VAT rate cut will be passed through to consumer prices, but that prices will be reduced progressively rather than immediately.
	The Office for National Statistics published statistics on UK inflation in December on 20 January 2009 including detail on the pass-on rate of the temporary VAT reduction. It can be found at www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/cpiO109.pdf An impact assessment of the VAT rate cut was published at PBR; it estimated the compliance cost to business of implementing the cut to be £175 million.

Terrorism

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to bring to the attention of the government of the United States the references by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, David Miliband, to the concept of a war on terror in his article in The Guardian on 15 January.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We are in regular contact with the US Government on all aspects of counterterrorism policy.

Terrorism

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the report by REDRESS entitled The United Kingdom, Torture and Anti-Terrorism: Where the Problems Lie, particularly the observations concerning (a) rendition and British involvement in ill treatment in Guantanamo Bay and Diego Garcia and other "legal black holes"; (b) relying on United States assurances that United Kingdom territory is not used by them for rendition and ill treatment; (c) the deportation of terrorist suspects to countries that use torture; (d) a public inquiry into whether United Kingdom agents have acted unlawfully; and (e) compensation and assistance for those who have been tortured.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The Government have received a copy of the REDRESS report. We welcome such input and have taken note of its contents, but are unable to respond in detail to every report issued. The Government's position on the issues raised is as follows:
	(a) Rendition, Guantanamo Bay and "legal black holes"
	The UK's position on rendition and Guantanamo Bay is clear. We do not render people in breach of our legal obligations and unreservedly condemn any practice of "extraordinary rendition to torture". We have repeatedly called for the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and we welcome the steps President Obama is now taking to close it.
	The Government oppose any form of deprivation of liberty that amounts to placing a detained person outside the protection of the law. The UK supports the rule of law, and our policy remains that individuals suspected of involvement in terrorism should be brought to justice whenever possible.
	(b) US assurances
	The US is our closest bilateral partner, and we cannot proceed with them on the basis of mistrust or a presumption of deceit. Notwithstanding the new information which emerged in Feb 2008 concerning two cases of rendition through Diego Garcia in 2002, we fully accept that the US gave its earlier assurances in good faith. We have worked closely with the US to ensure that the renewed assurances they have given us are correct and that we are providing accurate information to Parliament.
	(c) Deportation
	The Government will not deport someone where there are substantial reasons for believing that there is a real risk of torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment, or where the death penalty will apply.
	We can only deport someone if their removal is compatible with our international commitments, including our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. Accordingly, we have secured arrangements on deportation with assurances with certain countries so that we can satisfy ourselves that a particular removal is compatible with those obligations.
	We firmly believe that, in seeking assurances from countries to which we wish to deport foreign nationals who pose a threat to our security, we are both safeguarding their rights and protecting the public. The Government are satisfied that diplomatic assurances can provide effective safeguards for the proper treatment of individuals being returned and can ensure that their rights will be respected
	(d) Public inquiry into whether UK agents have acted unlawfully
	If there were any question of anyone acting in an official capacity being engaged in an unlawful act, then this would be a matter for the police. Where allegations of mistreatment have been made to us by British nationals or residents whilst in Guantanamo Bay or following their release, and where we have been asked to do so by the individual concerned, we have raised those allegations with the US authorities.
	If individuals believe that their human rights have been infringed as a result of actions carried out by or on behalf of any of the UK intelligence agencies, then they may take their case to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
	(e) Compensation for those tortured
	The Government take all allegations of torture very seriously indeed. Where allegations of torture of British nationals overseas are made, we are able to make consular representations on behalf of the individuals concerned. We may also occasionally make representations on humanitarian grounds on behalf of non-British nationals. The question of compensation is one for the individuals concerned and their lawyers.

Universities

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: To ask Her Majesty's Government which universities Lord Drayson has visited in his capacity as Minister of State for Science and Innovation.

Lord Drayson: As of 4February 2009, I have visited three universities: Oxford, Imperial College and Aston University.